《高上玉皇本行经髓》

In former times, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun), in the Jade Emperor’s palace of the Jade Capital and Golden Towers within the Heaven of Pure Tenuity (Qingwei Tian, the higher celestial realm spoken of in Daoism), ascended the Seat of Light and expounded to countless beings the dharma-gate of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao) purity and the non-dual True One (Zhenyi). At that time the August Jade Emperor (Yuhuang), together with a host of immortals, perfected beings, and sages, was observing the pure fast and keeping the precepts, standing in attendance at his side.

The Jade Emperor knew that the moment had arrived. Before the assembly began, he put forth the divine power of the Six Penetrations (Liutong) and released a great radiance that illuminated all the heavens. Every realm shook violently, and the boundless worlds of the ten directions became as clear as beryl (liuli). The light then shone downward upon the worlds in every quarter, so that the humans and celestial hosts within them all felt the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao. At that very moment the Iron Enclosure of Fengdu (the iron-mountain barrier surrounding the underworld) was instantly destroyed, and the beings dwelling in the Three Evil Paths (the three realms of suffering: hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) were liberated at the same time.

Thereupon the Jade Emperor differentiated many transformation-bodies, which appeared scattered throughout the great celestial palaces of the ten directions. In each place there spontaneously manifested a capital built of white jade, palaces constructed of gold, mysterious gardens adorned with the seven treasures, and halls of light, each furnished with a Seat of Light; banners, ceremonial insignia, jeweled canopies, rare flowers, and wondrous treasures were spread everywhere.

Through these transformation-bodies the Jade Emperor was present in every place, proclaiming to beings of the ten directions the Dao of purity and liberation. When the discourse was finished, he exercised his supernatural powers: while he himself remained where he was, he conducted the celestial beings to the Sacred Realm of Jade Clarity (Yuqing) in the Heaven of Pure Tenuity, bringing them into the assembly of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy. None of them perceived how they had been led there; without knowing it, they simply found themselves gathered at the assembly. All bowed and gazed up toward the Jade Emperor’s transformation-body, when suddenly they beheld the solemn and surpassingly wondrous assembly of the Primordial Heavenly Worthy. Overjoyed, they paid homage together and praised it as a magnificent gathering such as they had never seen.

At this time, the Celestial Lord of Lofty Void and Pure Brightness, together with the retinues of the celestial realm, rode in the Eight-Scene phoenix carriage (a vehicle adorned with auspicious sights), raised the Nine-Light Precious Canopy, played mysterious and wondrous songs and music, chanted the immeasurable Cavern Chapters (Daoist scriptural chapters), scattered precious flowers of the heavens, and sprinkled the fragrance of celestial perfection. Flying through the air, they arrived before the ritual sanctuary, bowed their heads and knelt at length, and said to the Celestial Worthy: “We, your servants, have been remiss and have not often come to hear the assembly. Today is an auspicious and joyous day. This Dharma Bridge has been established, so that the netherworld and the manifest world, ordinary mortals and sages, may all universally receive sacred grace; and a great radiance has been sent forth, revealing rare sights. Having accumulated good causes through a thousand kalpas, and now meeting the conjunction of the cycles of the Nine Heavens, today is truly of the greatest auspiciousness, and all revere this mysterious and wondrous merit.” They then praised the Lord on High in verse:

“You are the sovereign of the Golden Palace of the Mysterious Empyrean, the Exalted Jade Emperor on High. Your majestic and wondrous form surpasses all the heavens, and the radiance of your compassion illuminates the Three Realms. You are the True Holy One, the teacher of the wondrous Dao (the Way), and the refuge of celestial beings and the people of the world. By the teaching of the Great Vehicle you hand down instruction, and by the Dao of True Unity you guide those who have lost the way. Your merit is as vast as empty space, and praise can never exhaust it.”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy said to the four assemblies present: “The very being of the Jade Emperor is the body of the Dao, an existence that transcends ordinary form. You should draw near to the Jade Emperor, give rise to a heart of reverence, concentrate on visualizing his venerable countenance, and recite and praise his name. In this way, you will all receive protection and deliverance.”

Here, “visualization” is a method of cultivation in which the practitioner concentrates on the image of the deity; “reciting and praising the name” means to chant and extol his name and title.

At that time the Five Ancient Lords, progenitors of Heaven and Earth, paid homage to the Celestial Worthy and, kneeling upright, addressed him: “We have heard that the Exalted Jade Emperor, the supreme Jade Emperor, looks with compassion upon all living beings. He universally sends forth divine light that illumines the entire dharma-realm, so that the Six Mundane and the Four Holy—the six ordinary realms and the four realms of sages—all come under the shelter of the Great Dao. Tracing back to the beginning of remote antiquity, before Heaven and Earth had separated and before the sun and moon gave light, the Jade Emperor had already been born. Because of this, the Two Modes of Heaven and Earth could be distinguished, and the three lights of sun, moon, and stars could appear. His honorific titles are profound and difficult to put into words, and they cannot be fully fathomed. We therefore commanded that gold be cast into tablets and jade carved into seals. This is indeed the wondrous virtue contained in the numinous writ, and the profound root of Heaven and Earth. We humbly beg your compassion, and ask leave to transmit this scripture (Jing) according to the mysterious statutes and ritual norms.”

The Celestial Worthy then proclaimed to all the perfected sages: “Now the destiny of the Three Heavens is flourishing, and the Qi (vital energy) of the imperial Dao flows freely. This is precisely the time to spread the true Dao.” He thereupon ordered the Five Ancient Lords and the perfected sages to go to the Cold-Numinous Cinnabar Hall, the Upper Palace of Purple Tenuity, and the Jade Lodge of Cavern Yang in the Jade Capital of Great Mystery. They opened the brocade casket of nine lights and eight colors and the cloud-brocade pouches, and took out the Lingbao golden scripture in jade seal-script. Upon it was written:

“The supreme, all-pervading Heaven beyond Heaven, the realm of wondrous being and mysterious truth; the remote and deep Purple-Gold Towers, the Jade Clarity Palace of Grand Tenuity; the holy realm without limit and without superior, vast and open, its dharma-light shining. Still and profound, it rests on no ancestral source; its mysterious norms embrace the ten directions. The Great Dao, clear and silent, true and constant, is boundlessly vast and possessed of great spiritual power. The Great Celestial Worthy, the Jade Emperor, High Sovereign of the Mysterious Vault.”

After the Five Ancient Lords had received this scripture, they returned before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, inquired about the prohibitions and ritual procedures, and humbly gave thanks, saying that their own capacity was not equal to the task.

“Daoyan” (the words of the Dao, the Way) is an honorific title of the Jade Emperor, and it is also the wondrous speech transmitted by the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) and the true proclamation—the sacred edict—of the Jade Emperor. This is a scripture (Jing) of the utmost truth and subtlety, able of itself to call forth a response from the gods and spirits (Shen). From this one may know that the true writs of the celestial realm are exceedingly precious, and that only the most sagely persons can read them; this scripture is esoteric and hard to obtain, and is not something ordinary people are able to hear. Those who obtain the scripture, if they cultivate it diligently and practice it with reverence, may hope to become immortals.

At this time the Jade Void Sovereign (Yuxu Shangdi, a venerable deity of the celestial realm) said to the Heavenly Worthy: “May you, for the four assemblies—monastic Daoists, lay devotees, and the various kinds of followers—and for those in the world to come who uphold this scripture, expound the benefits it brings.”

The Heavenly Worthy told the Jade Void Sovereign: If, in the innumerable lands of the Three Realms and the ten directions, warfare breaks out on every side and pestilence spreads, or if floods, droughts, insect plagues, and locust plagues are encountered, so that the year turns perilous and the people suffer famine, the ruler ought to give rise to a compassionate heart and, on behalf of the people, broadly invite Daoist priests with due ritual courtesy to recite this scripture in a pure and solemn place. In this way the state may be made secure, the five grains may yield a rich harvest, and the people may live in peace. Wherever the scripture is present, the supreme perfected of the ten directions (the true sages of the ten directions) constantly guard it and make offerings; those who uphold this scripture may also obtain measureless merit and virtue (De).

Those who uphold this scripture may also make long banners and write upon them the name of the Jade Emperor. When the wind stirs the banners, no matter which direction they point, all living beings receive extraordinary benefit. One may also write the Jade Emperor’s name on all kinds of objects that can produce sound. Whether these sounds arise in the ritual sanctuary, are struck forth in music and play, or are set in motion by the wind, once living beings hear them, every obstruction born of transgression is cleared away—how much more so for those who themselves receive, uphold, and recite this scripture. One should know that such a person is the body of merit of the Daozang (the methods of the Dao as embodied in the Daoist scriptures).

The Heavenly Worthy said further to the Jade Void Sovereign: “What I now set forth is only a brief account; I have not yet spoken the mysteries within it to their end. Were they explained in full, ordinary people might, through wrong views, fall into doubt and disbelief. The merit of this scripture could scarcely be told in full even if one exhausted the kalpas.”

At this time, the Supreme Emperor of the Jade Void (Yuxu Shangdi), having heard the account, rejoiced in his heart. Gazing up at the kindly and compassionate face of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun), he bowed his head in praise and offered a hymn, saying:

Above the Nine Heavens lies what is called the Great Veil Heaven (Daluo Tian). The Jade Capital and its golden palaces (Yujing Jinque—the jade-capital palaces where the Celestial Emperor dwells) rise loftily among the clouds.

Within them is the Celestial Emperor, benevolent, generous, and peaceful. The supreme teaching of the Dao (the Way) is without equal and can subdue the host of demons.

In a numinous exclamation, the Celestial Treasure likewise offered a hymn, saying:

Above the Nine Heavens lies what is called the Great Veil Heaven. The Jade Capital and its golden palaces rise loftily among the clouds.

Within them is the Celestial Emperor, benevolent, generous, and peaceful. The supreme teaching of the Dao is without equal and can subdue the host of demons.

The precious numinous talismans of the Celestial Treasure (the precious spirit-talismans of the celestial realm), the jade statutes and golden codes (the laws of the celestial realm). Gods and immortals number in the hundreds of millions, and ceremonial banners and standards are many.

Those who hear and recite this scripture have their sinful karma removed and forever leave the River of Love (the condition in which beings sink into attachment and affliction).

When the Supreme Emperor of the Jade Void had finished his hymn, the gods of heaven praised it with one voice, saying that nothing like it had ever been known. The Celestial Worthy then addressed the four assemblies present (listeners of differing station): “All ordinary people who recite this scripture and praise the name of the Celestial Emperor have deep roots in the Dao and already possessed wholesome affinities in former lives. This scripture is exalted and mysterious; it can universally deliver innumerable beings. If one upholds it with single-minded reverence, it brings peace to household and realm, preserves one’s life, removes calamity, and sweeps away every ill omen. It can shatter the Iron Encircling Mountains, drain dry the waters of the sea of suffering, break open the great hells, and rescue those whose sins are heavy and who suffer; subdue violent demons and protect the lands of every quarter; cure grave illnesses, undo every poison, keep one far from wicked people, destroy evil beasts, smash deviant paths, and bring all the heavens into submission. Its remaining merits cannot be fully told.”

At that time, when the four assemblies had heard this, they rejoiced and stirred with delight, bowed in reverence, and then withdrew.

Here ends the Marrow of the Scripture of the Lofty Jade Emperor’s Original Practice (Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Jing Sui).

Liu Chuyuan was the twenty-fourth-generation lineal descendant of the Supreme Immortal and Highest Perfected of the Southern Marchmount, Controller of Destinies and Primordial Lady of the Purple Void, Pure and True (Nanyue Zongxian Shangzhen Siming Zixu Qingzhen Yuanjun). He belonged to the Jade Source immortal lineage of Ancheng and had received liturgical offices in the Shangqing (Highest Clarity), the Three Caverns (Sandong), the Five Thunders (Wulei), the scriptural registers (jinglu), the Qingwei (Pure Tenuity), and related traditions. In the seventh month of the fourth year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan (1344), he set out from Liuzhou Circuit in Guangxi and wandered on to Haibei.

On the evening of the fifteenth day of the eighth month, he came to a post-station pavilion within Shicheng County of Huazhou Circuit. No one lived anywhere nearby. At midnight, under a clear wind and bright moon, he tossed and turned and could not sleep, so he rose and went to the roadside to view the moon. There he saw an old man seated cross-legged on a stone, with thick eyebrows and snow-white hair. Liu Chuyuan stepped forward, paid his respects, and asked how far it still was to Huazhou. The old man said he could arrive in half a day, and warned him that Yao insurgents were then ranging through the various prefectures and commanderies, killing, seizing captives, and plundering, so that the common people suffered grievous harm—truly a cause for pity—and that he must be very careful on the road.

Liu Chuyuan thanked him for the warning and said that life and death have their own allotted fate and are truly hard to foresee. The old man asked the year and month of his birth; on hearing them, he looked at his own palm and calculated, saying that Liu’s destiny would meet with calamities such as miasmic malaria, bandits, armed conflict, and drowning. Although he had the merit of having relieved others, he still could not escape one of these perils. Liu Chuyuan begged him again and again for instruction in rites of prayer to avert the disaster. The old man said that if only he recited the Marrow of the Scripture of Original Practice (Benxing jingsui) with utmost sincerity, then even if he met with calamity, it would not endanger his life.

Liu Chuyuan replied that he had entered the Dao (the Way) thirty years earlier and had never seen the Marrow of the Scripture of Original Practice; ordinarily he recited only the Scripture of Original Practice (Benxing jing), and he feared this text would be hard to find. The old man then drew from his bosom a yellow plain-cloth bag, took out the scripture, and gave it to him, saying that he carried the scripture with him, had already memorized the text, and could bestow the original copy upon him. He charged him to recite it with wholehearted devotion and to transmit it widely, so that people of the world might read and recite it and obtain blessings. The old man declared himself a Daoist of Piling and told Liu Chuyuan to remember his name. When he had finished speaking, he rose, walked a few steps, and slowly departed, riding a cloud. Liu Chuyuan prostrated himself and bowed again; when he raised his head, the old man had vanished without a trace.

He paced beside the stone and gazed upward, and before he knew it dawn had come. On the stone there still remained the mark where the old man had sat and footprints as if left when he ascended to heaven. At noon on the sixteenth day of the eighth month, Liu Chuyuan reached Huazhou and lodged at the home of Chen Zongwu, at the foot of Longmu Mountain in Panlong Ward, Shilong County. He learned of a man named Huang Yilong, courtesy name Yuncong, registrar of Lianzhou, who was then temporarily in charge of the affairs of Shilong County. Huang Yilong was a native of Wuchuan. In the course of their gathering they spoke of the post station where Liu had stayed the night before, and only then did he learn that the place was called Xianjie Pu, the “Station of the Immortal Realm.” Liu Chuyuan asked how it had received the name. Huang Yilong said that in ancient times an immortal had once sat on the stone beside the station, and the sitting mark and footprints left on the stone were proof enough; that immortal sometimes withdrew into concealment and sometimes descended into the human world, and very few people ever met him. Liu Chuyuan understood in his heart that the one he had encountered was perhaps that very immortal, who had come in order to transmit this scripture.

On the twenty-fifth day of the eighth month, Liu Chuyuan contracted a severe miasmic malaria with high fever. For days on end, news kept arriving that Yao insurgents were plundering nearby, and he was both ill and anxious. At the hour of zi on the first day of the ninth month, he burned with fever into a stupor and suffered unceasing diarrhea. In a daze he saw a celestial deity clad in golden armor shout, “The bandits have already come—hide at once!” He then felt his spirits recover a little and his fever subside somewhat. He made a vow to Heaven and, after finishing his recitation of the scripture, sat on the bed leaning against the pillow. Just as dawn broke, he suddenly heard a roar like wind and rain rising all at once, and he cried out in alarm to Jiang Derun, who was lodging with him: “The bandits are here!”

Liu Chuyuan went out carrying the scripture and saw men and women inside and outside the city fleeing in every direction; he too ran to the riverbank. Many people were crowding onto the boats, so he let others board first. Zhang Sili, the registrar of Huazhou, who was aboard a boat, shouted to him, “Master, the bandits are in pursuit—into the water, quickly!” Liu Chuyuan looked back and saw the pursuers already about two zhang away, shooting with lances and crossbows. He had no choice but to leap into the water. He drifted with the current for about one li and reached midstream, where the boatman Wu Riming pulled him aboard. Once on the boat, his clothes were soaked through, yet the scripture volume had not taken on a drop of water.

Liu Chuyuan bowed in thanks to Heaven, Earth, and the river, saying that he had never known how to swim, yet he had entered the water without drowning, and though he had met bandits and armed soldiers he had not been wounded. He supposed this was the power of the Scripture of Original Practice, together with the hidden protection of deities and spirits. He sighed that what the immortal perfected one had said was no empty falsehood, and that even the disasters fixed in his fate could be escaped by a narrow chance; only then did he know that the power of the Scripture of Original Practice was beyond conception. He therefore vowed to Heaven and Earth that he would have the scripture carved on blocks and printed and spread to every place, hoping that all who had an affinity with it might draw near to the Qi (vital energy) of the Dao—Daoqi, the breath and power of the Dao—and together cultivate and realize its mysterious merit.